Update: Andrew Davies tribute, Beta, Studiocanal deals; The Halcyon, Mata Hari set the tone for market awash with high-end drama.
Mipcom got off to a glamourous start this year with world premiere screenings of Sony Pictures Television’s The Halcyon followed by Julius Berg’s Mata Hari starring Vahina Giocante, Rutger Hauer and Christopher Lambert on Sunday.
These two premieres, on the eve of Mipcom’s official opening, set the tone for a market that will be more awash than ever with high-end dramas.
In the backdrop, one of the talking points is which platforms these series will be distributed on as part of Mipcom’s overall theme of “New Television”.
Sony Corporation president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, who kicked off Mipcom’s conference programme on Monday, said content and delivery were two sides of the same coin when it came to getting viewers to pay for they were watching.
“Consumers are willing...
Mipcom got off to a glamourous start this year with world premiere screenings of Sony Pictures Television’s The Halcyon followed by Julius Berg’s Mata Hari starring Vahina Giocante, Rutger Hauer and Christopher Lambert on Sunday.
These two premieres, on the eve of Mipcom’s official opening, set the tone for a market that will be more awash than ever with high-end dramas.
In the backdrop, one of the talking points is which platforms these series will be distributed on as part of Mipcom’s overall theme of “New Television”.
Sony Corporation president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, who kicked off Mipcom’s conference programme on Monday, said content and delivery were two sides of the same coin when it came to getting viewers to pay for they were watching.
“Consumers are willing...
- 10/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
The Halcyon, Mata Hari set the tone for market awash with high-end drama.
Mipcom got off to a glamourous start this year with world premiere screenings of Sony Pictures Television’s The Halcyon followed by Julius Berg’s Mata Hari starring Vahina Giocante, Rutger Hauer and Christopher Lambert on Sunday.
These two premieres, on the eve of Mipcom’s official opening, set the tone for a market that will be more awash than ever with high-end dramas.
In the backdrop, one of the talking points is which platforms these series will be distributed on as part of Mipcom’s overall theme of “New Television”.
Sony Corporation president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, who kicked off Mipcom’s conference programme on Monday, said content and delivery were two sides of the same coin when it came to getting viewers to pay for they were watching.
“Consumers are willing to pay for content that they want and they desire when it...
Mipcom got off to a glamourous start this year with world premiere screenings of Sony Pictures Television’s The Halcyon followed by Julius Berg’s Mata Hari starring Vahina Giocante, Rutger Hauer and Christopher Lambert on Sunday.
These two premieres, on the eve of Mipcom’s official opening, set the tone for a market that will be more awash than ever with high-end dramas.
In the backdrop, one of the talking points is which platforms these series will be distributed on as part of Mipcom’s overall theme of “New Television”.
Sony Corporation president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, who kicked off Mipcom’s conference programme on Monday, said content and delivery were two sides of the same coin when it came to getting viewers to pay for they were watching.
“Consumers are willing to pay for content that they want and they desire when it...
- 10/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
Director Paolo Sorrentino talks tackling TV and The Pope in new Jude Law series.
The Young Pope marks auteur filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s first foray into TV.
The Italian director, known for cinematic feasts including Oscar-winner The Great Beauty and Il Divo, will this weekend unveil the first two episodes of the anticipated, big-budget HBO-Sky-Canal Plus series on the Lido, where Venice head Alberto Barbera has reserved it the prestigious first Saturday night slot.
Jude Law stars in The Young Pope as the newly elected and unconventional Pope Pius Xiii (aka Lenny Belardo), a young man struggling under the weight of his new responsibilities and the history of becoming the first American pontiff.
The robust supporting cast includes Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara and Cécile De France. Sorrentino co-wrote the ten-episode series with a trio of decorated screenwriters: Umberto Contarello (The Great Beauty), Tony Grisoni (Southcliffe) and Stefano Rulli (Suburra). Italian outfit Wildside is main...
The Young Pope marks auteur filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s first foray into TV.
The Italian director, known for cinematic feasts including Oscar-winner The Great Beauty and Il Divo, will this weekend unveil the first two episodes of the anticipated, big-budget HBO-Sky-Canal Plus series on the Lido, where Venice head Alberto Barbera has reserved it the prestigious first Saturday night slot.
Jude Law stars in The Young Pope as the newly elected and unconventional Pope Pius Xiii (aka Lenny Belardo), a young man struggling under the weight of his new responsibilities and the history of becoming the first American pontiff.
The robust supporting cast includes Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara and Cécile De France. Sorrentino co-wrote the ten-episode series with a trio of decorated screenwriters: Umberto Contarello (The Great Beauty), Tony Grisoni (Southcliffe) and Stefano Rulli (Suburra). Italian outfit Wildside is main...
- 9/2/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Director Paolo Sorrentino talks tackling TV and The Pope in new Jude Law series.
The Young Pope marks auteur filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s first foray into TV.
The Italian director, known for cinematic feasts including Oscar-winner The Great Beauty and Il Divo, will this weekend unveil the first two episodes of the anticipated, big-budget HBO-Sky-Canal Plus series on the Lido, where Venice head Alberto Barbera has reserved it the prestigious first Saturday night slot.
Jude Law stars in The Young Pope as the newly elected and unconventional Pope Pius Xiii (aka Lenny Belardo), a young man struggling under the weight of his new responsibilities and the history of becoming the first American pontiff.
The robust supporting cast includes Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara and Cécile De France. Sorrentino co-wrote the eight-episode series with a trio of decorated screenwriters: Umberto Contarello (The Great Beauty), Tony Grisoni (Southcliffe) and Stefano Rulli (Suburra). Italian outfit Wildside is main...
The Young Pope marks auteur filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s first foray into TV.
The Italian director, known for cinematic feasts including Oscar-winner The Great Beauty and Il Divo, will this weekend unveil the first two episodes of the anticipated, big-budget HBO-Sky-Canal Plus series on the Lido, where Venice head Alberto Barbera has reserved it the prestigious first Saturday night slot.
Jude Law stars in The Young Pope as the newly elected and unconventional Pope Pius Xiii (aka Lenny Belardo), a young man struggling under the weight of his new responsibilities and the history of becoming the first American pontiff.
The robust supporting cast includes Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara and Cécile De France. Sorrentino co-wrote the eight-episode series with a trio of decorated screenwriters: Umberto Contarello (The Great Beauty), Tony Grisoni (Southcliffe) and Stefano Rulli (Suburra). Italian outfit Wildside is main...
- 9/2/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Sky, HBO and Canal Plus have dropped the first trailer (above) for their joint production, The Young Pope. From Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino, the eight-part series sets Jude Law as Lenny Belardo, aka Pius Xiii, the fictional first American pontiff in history. The drama begins airing on Sky Atlantic from October in Italy, the UK, Germany, Ireland and Austria; and on Canal Plus in France. Domestically, HBO will also air it later this year.
Law plays the young and charming Belardo whose election might seem the result of a simple and effective media strategy by the College of Cardinals. But, appearances can be deceiving. Inside the Vatican, the mysterious and contradictory Pius Xiii is at once shrewd and naïve, old-fashioned and very modern, doubtful and resolute, ironic, pedantic, hurt and ruthless. As he walks the long path of human loneliness to find a God for mankind, he’s also seeking one for himself.
Law plays the young and charming Belardo whose election might seem the result of a simple and effective media strategy by the College of Cardinals. But, appearances can be deceiving. Inside the Vatican, the mysterious and contradictory Pius Xiii is at once shrewd and naïve, old-fashioned and very modern, doubtful and resolute, ironic, pedantic, hurt and ruthless. As he walks the long path of human loneliness to find a God for mankind, he’s also seeking one for himself.
- 6/15/2016
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Film to market premiere at Toronto.
Paris-based Indie Sales has secured sales on Stefano Sollima’s Rome-set organised crime thriller Suburra.
The film has sold to Benelux (Lumiere), Germany and Austria (Koch Films) and Switzerland (Praesens Films).
Sollima previously directed most of the episodes of hit TV series Gomorrah, which sold to more than 100 territories including the Us, where it was acquired by The Weinstein Company.
Other credits include the 2012 film A.C.A.B., about a squad of riot police in Rome, and TV series Romanzo Criminale.
Indie Sales, which will market premiere the high-octane Suburra at a private screening today (Sept 12), is also reporting strong interest from Australia and the UK.
“Stefano Sollima is an amazing director and the actors are great” said Indie Sales chief Nicolas Eschbach.
The film is based on a novel of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini, painting a nebulous web of corruption interlinking politicians, the Vatican...
Paris-based Indie Sales has secured sales on Stefano Sollima’s Rome-set organised crime thriller Suburra.
The film has sold to Benelux (Lumiere), Germany and Austria (Koch Films) and Switzerland (Praesens Films).
Sollima previously directed most of the episodes of hit TV series Gomorrah, which sold to more than 100 territories including the Us, where it was acquired by The Weinstein Company.
Other credits include the 2012 film A.C.A.B., about a squad of riot police in Rome, and TV series Romanzo Criminale.
Indie Sales, which will market premiere the high-octane Suburra at a private screening today (Sept 12), is also reporting strong interest from Australia and the UK.
“Stefano Sollima is an amazing director and the actors are great” said Indie Sales chief Nicolas Eschbach.
The film is based on a novel of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini, painting a nebulous web of corruption interlinking politicians, the Vatican...
- 9/12/2015
- ScreenDaily
Oscar winner Diane Keaton has signed on to star opposite Jude Law in the eight-part upcoming series "The Young Pope" for HBO and Sky.
Law will play Pius Xiii who is a fictional American pope who becomes the most conservative leader the Catholic Church has ever seen.
Stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers yet full of compassion toward the weak and poor, he faces the prospect of losing those closest to him - even his God.
Keaton will play Sister Mary, a nun from the U.S. now living in Vatican City. The project marks the first-ever TV series from Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino who will co-write all the episodes with Tony Grisoni, Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli.
Source: The Live Feed...
Law will play Pius Xiii who is a fictional American pope who becomes the most conservative leader the Catholic Church has ever seen.
Stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers yet full of compassion toward the weak and poor, he faces the prospect of losing those closest to him - even his God.
Keaton will play Sister Mary, a nun from the U.S. now living in Vatican City. The project marks the first-ever TV series from Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino who will co-write all the episodes with Tony Grisoni, Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli.
Source: The Live Feed...
- 7/28/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Young Pope
Jude Law is set to star in Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's TV series "The Young Pope" at HBO, Sky and Canal Plus. The story deals with an imaginary conservative American pontiff who is the first Italian-American pope in history and has been recruited by a Vatican fed up with liberals. Trouble is, they're not ready for how hard-line he is.
Production on the eight-episode series is set to begin this summer with filming to take place predominantly in Italy with additional locations in the United States, Africa and Puerto Rico. Sorrentino will helm all eight episodes and penned the scripts with the help of Tony Grisoni, Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli. [Source: Variety]
The Belko Experiment
John Gallagher ("The Newsroom") is set to star in Greg McLean's thriller "The Belko Experiment" at MGM Studios. James Gunn will produce and penned the script with filming to begin shortly in Bogota,...
Jude Law is set to star in Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's TV series "The Young Pope" at HBO, Sky and Canal Plus. The story deals with an imaginary conservative American pontiff who is the first Italian-American pope in history and has been recruited by a Vatican fed up with liberals. Trouble is, they're not ready for how hard-line he is.
Production on the eight-episode series is set to begin this summer with filming to take place predominantly in Italy with additional locations in the United States, Africa and Puerto Rico. Sorrentino will helm all eight episodes and penned the scripts with the help of Tony Grisoni, Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli. [Source: Variety]
The Belko Experiment
John Gallagher ("The Newsroom") is set to star in Greg McLean's thriller "The Belko Experiment" at MGM Studios. James Gunn will produce and penned the script with filming to begin shortly in Bogota,...
- 5/19/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
It’s official: Jude Law will become the latest A-lister to head to the small screen, with news that he’s signed on to topline Paolo Sorrentino’s first-ever television series The Young Pope. Confirmation of Law’s involvement coincides with HBO picking up the show for broadcast in the U.S.
Law will portray a fictional American pope named Lenny Belardo who, upon being selected as the next leader of the Catholic Church, reveals himself to be the most conservative one in the history of the faith. Even the Vatican’s most prominent figures are not prepared for many of the hard-line policies Belardo sets out to implement. The series will take place in both the U.S. and the Vatican. Its timing is intriguing, given that the real-life Pope Francis is widely considered to be one of the most modern and liberal leaders the Church has had in many years.
Law will portray a fictional American pope named Lenny Belardo who, upon being selected as the next leader of the Catholic Church, reveals himself to be the most conservative one in the history of the faith. Even the Vatican’s most prominent figures are not prepared for many of the hard-line policies Belardo sets out to implement. The series will take place in both the U.S. and the Vatican. Its timing is intriguing, given that the real-life Pope Francis is widely considered to be one of the most modern and liberal leaders the Church has had in many years.
- 5/18/2015
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
Italian media went pazzo over the weekend with rumors that Jude Law was being lined up as a fictional Italo-American pontiff in Paolo Sorrentino’s upcoming mini The Young Pope. A source confirms the British actor is in negotiations for the titular part, but says it’s early days. The Young Pope is an eight-episode series to be written by the Oscar-winning Great Beauty helmer along with Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli for Sky Italia. Italy’s Wildside is producing. The…...
- 3/9/2015
- Deadline TV
Three acclaimed foreign-born filmmakers are headed to the small screen for several ambitious TV series.
"The Deep" and "Contraband" filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur, currently shooting the high-profile "Everest," will direct and produce the ten-part crime drama series "Trapped" for Rvk Studios.
Sigurjon Kjartansson and Clive Bradley are penning the series about the investigation of an unidentified corpse found at the bottom of a fjord after an International ferry arrives in a small town. When a blizzard strikes, the only road in and out become impassable.
Next up, Oscar-winning "The Great Beauty" director Paolo Sorrentino is set to write and direct his first TV series "The Young Pope" for Sky Italia and Wildside. Sorrentino will helm all eight episodes and co-write them with Stefano Rulli and Umberto Contarello.
The story revolves around the figure of a fictional pontiff: the first Italian-American pope in history. The story is set in modern times and unfolds between the Vatican City,...
"The Deep" and "Contraband" filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur, currently shooting the high-profile "Everest," will direct and produce the ten-part crime drama series "Trapped" for Rvk Studios.
Sigurjon Kjartansson and Clive Bradley are penning the series about the investigation of an unidentified corpse found at the bottom of a fjord after an International ferry arrives in a small town. When a blizzard strikes, the only road in and out become impassable.
Next up, Oscar-winning "The Great Beauty" director Paolo Sorrentino is set to write and direct his first TV series "The Young Pope" for Sky Italia and Wildside. Sorrentino will helm all eight episodes and co-write them with Stefano Rulli and Umberto Contarello.
The story revolves around the figure of a fictional pontiff: the first Italian-American pope in history. The story is set in modern times and unfolds between the Vatican City,...
- 4/9/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Emerging Pictures recently announced “Cinema Made In Italy,” a major new initiative between Istituto Luce- Cinecittà, the Italian Trade Commission and Emerging Pictures that will pro-vide distribution and marketing support to five major Italian films with the goal of broadening the audience for Italian cinema in the United States. Emerging will oversee the initiative and distribute Gianni Amelio’s L’Intrepido, Marco Bellocchio’s Dormant Beauty, Bernardo Bertolucci’s Me And You and Valeria Golino’s Honey in 2014.
These four recent Italian works will receive marketing and distribution support from a fund created by Istituto Luce- Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission. The first film in the series was Paolo Sorrentino’s masterful Academy Award nominated The Great Beauty. Since it was released by Janus Films with support from the Cinema Made In Italy program, it has become one of the most acclaimed foreign language films of the year. It also won the Golden Globe, European Film Award and is nominated for the BAFTA and Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film.
All five films will receive a nationwide release. Theaters will be announced shortly. Each of the films will have a full marketing and publicity campaign overseen by Emerging Pictures and supported by Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission.
Ira Deutchman, Managing Partner of Emerging Pictures, said, “Italian cine- ma has always captured the imagination of American audiences since the hey-day of Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, De Sica and Rossellini. Our goal is to create a marketing and distribution initiative that will allow new Italian films to regularly enter the marketplace with a presence and to help create an ongoing new audience. We’re thrilled to be working with Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission to create this truly groundbreaking program.”
“Luce Cinecitta' is proud to test this new way to promote Italian cinema abroad,” said Istituto Luce-Cinecitta’ Chief Executive Officer Roberto Cicut- to. “Thanks to the funds provided by the Ministry of Economic Development and The Italian Trade Commission (Agenzia Ice) in addition to those provid- ed by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Emerging Pictures, we will be able to give the largest theatrical distribution to recent Italian titles direct- ed by very prestigious auteurs. Italian cinema is well known worldwide for its glorious past and for such great contemporary directors as Bertolucci, Bellocchio, Moretti, Sorrentino, Garrone, Amelio and others. This new platform will give our movies the chance to be seen in a wide array of theaters throughout the U.S., and not just in specialized art houses in a few big cities. The recent outstanding success of Sorrentino's ‘Great Beauty,’ a Janus release, with our support, shows there is great potential here for Italian cinema. We look for- ward to increasing the availability of Italian films to our American friends.”
Dr. Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Commission, said, "We have been working in the past two years with all the institutions mentioned by Roberto with two main goals: to get the Italian movie industry as the most important made-in-Italy tool for the commercial promotion of our country in the U.S., to try to reach the widest possible audience for viewing Italian movies. The support of different public institutions was central to building a project that was from the outset commercial: the movie industry is quintessentially important to promoting wine, food, fashion, design, technology, tourism and Italian style, together with the expression of our cultural values, trends and innovations. Italian cinema provides a single, comprehensive tool for achieving that meaningful goal. With ‘The Great Beauty,’ our first film, Cinema Made in Italy makes its debut in 25 cities, in more than 100 theaters in 15 states. This far-reaching exposure is exactly what we were searching for in our partnership with Emerging Pictures, and we are very happy that this first film in our Italian movie series is already appearing throughout the United States.”
About Emerging Pictures
Emerging Pictures, managed by Barry Rebo and Ira Deutchman, is the pre- mier all-digital Specialty Film and Alternative Content network of theaters in the United States. The company delivers independent films, cultural pro- grams and special events to a network of approximately 400 North American venues encompassing traditional art houses, museums and performing arts centers as well as commercial multiplexes including Allen Theatres, Angelika/ Reading Theatres, Big Cinemas, Bow Tie Cinemas, Marcus Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Digiplex Destination Cinemas, Harkins Theatres, Laemmle Theaters, Muvico Theaters, Regency Theatres and others. The company also distributes live and captured live performances worldwide of the Bolshoi Ballet and some of the world’s foremost opera houses, including Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, under its Ballet in Cinema and Opera in Cinema brands.
About Istituto Luce-Cinecitta
Istituto Luce - Cinecittà (www.cinecittaluce.it) is the state-owned company whose main shareholder is the Italian Ministry for Culture. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà’s institutional work includes promoting Italian cinema both at home and abroad by means of projects dedicated to the great directors of the past and their classic films, as well contemporary ones. During the main In- ternational Film Festivals Istituto Luce - Cinecittà prepares multifunctional spaces that help to the promotion of our cinematography and it is the refer- ence place for all Italian and foreign operators Istituto Luce - Cinecittà holds one of the most important film and photographic archive both of its own pro- ductions, and private collections and acquisitions from a variety of sources. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà also distributes films made by Italian and European directors and guarantees they are given an adequate release on the national market. The team for the promotion of contemporary cinema continues to col- laborate with all of the major film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Shanghai, Tokyo, Locarno, New York , London, etc, by orga- nizing the national selections, the presence of Italian films and artists in the various festivals, and providing an expository and promotional space within all the major International film markets. We are also involved with the orga- nization of numerous events which take place in countries with strong com- mercial potential such as : The Italian cinema festival in Tokyo, Open Roads – New Italian cinema in New York, Cinema Italian Style in Los Angeles, The Festival of Italian cinema of Barcelona and The Mittelcinemafest. Istituto
Luce - Cinecittà also owns a film library, Cineteca, which contains around 3000 titles of the most significant Italian film productions, subtitled in foreign languages, which serve in promoting Italian culture at major national and in- ternational Institutes around the world. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà is also re- sponsible for editing a daily news magazine on-line: CinecittàNews (news.cinecitta.com) which delivers the latest breaking news on the principal activities involving Italian cinema as well as its developing legislative and in- stitutional aspects.
About The Italian Trade Commission The Ice-Italian Trade Promotion Agency is the government organization which promotes the internationalization of the Italian companies, in line with the strategies of the Ministry for Economic Development. Ice provides in- formation, support and advice to Italian and foreign companies. In addition to its Rome headquarters, Ice operates worldwide from a large network of Trade Promotion Offices linked to Italian embassies and consulates and work- ing closely with local authorities and businesses. Ice provides a wide range of services overseas helping Italian and foreign businesses to connect with each other
About The Films
Dormant Beauty (Bella Addormentata)
Release Date: Tbc Director: Marco Bellocchio Producer: Riccardo Tozzi, Fabio Conversi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Sta- bilini
Screenplay: Marco Bellocchio, Veronica Raimo, Stefano Rulli Cast: Toni Servillo, Isabelle Huppert, Alba Rohrwacher Festivals: Venice 2012, Toronto 2012
Three stories, taking place over the course of a few days, involving a con- science-stricken politician, an obsessive mother and two young protestors on different sides, are skillfully interwoven in this gripping, beautifully realized film. Set against the background of the emotional and controversial real-life 2008 euthanasia case of Eluana Englaro, Dormant Beauty is a subtle and complex depiction of recent Italian history.
The Great Beauty
(released by Janus Films) - In Release Director: Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo) Producer: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima Screenwriter: Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello Cast: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferrili, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, Pamela Villoresi, Galatea Ranzi with Massimo de Francovich, Roberto Herlitzka, and with Isabella Ferrari Festivals: Cannes (Competition) 2013, Toronto 2013, AFI 2013, Italy’s Official Entry to the 2014 Academy Awards Awards: 4 European Film Award nominations (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and winner for Best Editing), Best Foreign Film nominee for British In- dependent Film Awards
Journalist Jep Gambardella (the dazzling Toni Servillo, Il Divo and Go- Morrah) has charmed and seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades. Since the legendary success of his one and only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in the city's literary and social circles, but when his sixty-fifth birthday coincides with a shock from the past, Jep finds himself unexpectedly taking stock of his life, turning his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, and looking past the extravagant nightclubs, parties, and cafés to find Rome in all its glory: a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
Honey (Miele)
Release Date: March 7, 2014 Director: Valeria Golino Producer: Viola Prestieri, Riccardo Scamarcio, Anne-Dominique Toussaint, Raphael Berdugo Screenplay: Valeria Golino, Valia Santella, Francesca Marciano, from the novel by Angela Del Fabbro with the same title Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Carlo Cecchi, Libero De Rienzo, Vinicio Marchioni, Iaia Forte, Roberto De Francesco, Barbara Ronchi, Claudio Guain, Teresa Acerbis, Valeria Bilello, Massimiliano Iacolucci Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard) 2013, Toronto 2013 Prizes: Winner Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury, Cannes 2013 Nominated for European Discovery at the European Film Awards 2013
Actress Valeria Golino makes her directing debut with Honey. Irene lives alone on the coastline outside Rome. To her father and her married lover, she’s a student. In reality, she often travels to Mexico where she can legally buy a powerful barbiturate. Working under the name of Miele ("Honey"), her clandestine job is to help terminally-ill people to die with dignity by giving them the drug. One day she supplies a new “client” with a fatal dose, only to find out he’s perfectly healthy but tired of life. Irene is determined not to be responsible for his suicide. From this point on, Irene and Grimaldi are unwill- ingly locked in an intense and moving relationship which will change Irene’s life forever.
L’Intrepido
Release Date - To Be Confirmed Director: Gianni Amelio Producer: Carlo Degli Esposti Screenplay: Gianni Amelio, Davide Lantieri Cast: Antonio Albanese, Sandra Ceccarelli, Livia Rossi, Gabriele Rendina, Alfonso Santagata
Festivals: Venice 2013, Toronto 2013
Set in modern day Milan, this is a Chaplinesque odyssey through the world of work – every type of work, but primarily unskilled manual labor – seen through the eyes of a kind, middle-aged man who takes on every conceivable temporary job in order to be useful and have self respect. This really is a por- trait of the highs and lows of modern life. At its heart is a sympathetic man (Antonio Albanese) who, despite loneliness and personal family problems, es- pecially around his gifted but troubled musician son, remains defiantly opti- mistic even when terrible things happen to him and the people he meets.
Me And You (Io E Te)
Release Date: To Be Confirmed
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci Screenplay: Bernardo Bertolucci, Niccolo Ammaniti, Umberto Contarello Producer: Mario Gianani Cast: Tea Falco, Jacopo Olmo Antinori Festivals: Cannes, Toronto
Lorenzo, a solitary 14-year-old with difficulties relating to his daily life and the world around him, chooses to spend a week hidden in the basement of his house. But Lorenzo’s fragile and rebellious stepsister, Olivia, appears at her brother’s place of refuge and disturbs the quiet.
These four recent Italian works will receive marketing and distribution support from a fund created by Istituto Luce- Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission. The first film in the series was Paolo Sorrentino’s masterful Academy Award nominated The Great Beauty. Since it was released by Janus Films with support from the Cinema Made In Italy program, it has become one of the most acclaimed foreign language films of the year. It also won the Golden Globe, European Film Award and is nominated for the BAFTA and Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film.
All five films will receive a nationwide release. Theaters will be announced shortly. Each of the films will have a full marketing and publicity campaign overseen by Emerging Pictures and supported by Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission.
Ira Deutchman, Managing Partner of Emerging Pictures, said, “Italian cine- ma has always captured the imagination of American audiences since the hey-day of Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, De Sica and Rossellini. Our goal is to create a marketing and distribution initiative that will allow new Italian films to regularly enter the marketplace with a presence and to help create an ongoing new audience. We’re thrilled to be working with Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Commission to create this truly groundbreaking program.”
“Luce Cinecitta' is proud to test this new way to promote Italian cinema abroad,” said Istituto Luce-Cinecitta’ Chief Executive Officer Roberto Cicut- to. “Thanks to the funds provided by the Ministry of Economic Development and The Italian Trade Commission (Agenzia Ice) in addition to those provid- ed by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Emerging Pictures, we will be able to give the largest theatrical distribution to recent Italian titles direct- ed by very prestigious auteurs. Italian cinema is well known worldwide for its glorious past and for such great contemporary directors as Bertolucci, Bellocchio, Moretti, Sorrentino, Garrone, Amelio and others. This new platform will give our movies the chance to be seen in a wide array of theaters throughout the U.S., and not just in specialized art houses in a few big cities. The recent outstanding success of Sorrentino's ‘Great Beauty,’ a Janus release, with our support, shows there is great potential here for Italian cinema. We look for- ward to increasing the availability of Italian films to our American friends.”
Dr. Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Commission, said, "We have been working in the past two years with all the institutions mentioned by Roberto with two main goals: to get the Italian movie industry as the most important made-in-Italy tool for the commercial promotion of our country in the U.S., to try to reach the widest possible audience for viewing Italian movies. The support of different public institutions was central to building a project that was from the outset commercial: the movie industry is quintessentially important to promoting wine, food, fashion, design, technology, tourism and Italian style, together with the expression of our cultural values, trends and innovations. Italian cinema provides a single, comprehensive tool for achieving that meaningful goal. With ‘The Great Beauty,’ our first film, Cinema Made in Italy makes its debut in 25 cities, in more than 100 theaters in 15 states. This far-reaching exposure is exactly what we were searching for in our partnership with Emerging Pictures, and we are very happy that this first film in our Italian movie series is already appearing throughout the United States.”
About Emerging Pictures
Emerging Pictures, managed by Barry Rebo and Ira Deutchman, is the pre- mier all-digital Specialty Film and Alternative Content network of theaters in the United States. The company delivers independent films, cultural pro- grams and special events to a network of approximately 400 North American venues encompassing traditional art houses, museums and performing arts centers as well as commercial multiplexes including Allen Theatres, Angelika/ Reading Theatres, Big Cinemas, Bow Tie Cinemas, Marcus Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Digiplex Destination Cinemas, Harkins Theatres, Laemmle Theaters, Muvico Theaters, Regency Theatres and others. The company also distributes live and captured live performances worldwide of the Bolshoi Ballet and some of the world’s foremost opera houses, including Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, under its Ballet in Cinema and Opera in Cinema brands.
About Istituto Luce-Cinecitta
Istituto Luce - Cinecittà (www.cinecittaluce.it) is the state-owned company whose main shareholder is the Italian Ministry for Culture. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà’s institutional work includes promoting Italian cinema both at home and abroad by means of projects dedicated to the great directors of the past and their classic films, as well contemporary ones. During the main In- ternational Film Festivals Istituto Luce - Cinecittà prepares multifunctional spaces that help to the promotion of our cinematography and it is the refer- ence place for all Italian and foreign operators Istituto Luce - Cinecittà holds one of the most important film and photographic archive both of its own pro- ductions, and private collections and acquisitions from a variety of sources. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà also distributes films made by Italian and European directors and guarantees they are given an adequate release on the national market. The team for the promotion of contemporary cinema continues to col- laborate with all of the major film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Shanghai, Tokyo, Locarno, New York , London, etc, by orga- nizing the national selections, the presence of Italian films and artists in the various festivals, and providing an expository and promotional space within all the major International film markets. We are also involved with the orga- nization of numerous events which take place in countries with strong com- mercial potential such as : The Italian cinema festival in Tokyo, Open Roads – New Italian cinema in New York, Cinema Italian Style in Los Angeles, The Festival of Italian cinema of Barcelona and The Mittelcinemafest. Istituto
Luce - Cinecittà also owns a film library, Cineteca, which contains around 3000 titles of the most significant Italian film productions, subtitled in foreign languages, which serve in promoting Italian culture at major national and in- ternational Institutes around the world. Istituto Luce - Cinecittà is also re- sponsible for editing a daily news magazine on-line: CinecittàNews (news.cinecitta.com) which delivers the latest breaking news on the principal activities involving Italian cinema as well as its developing legislative and in- stitutional aspects.
About The Italian Trade Commission The Ice-Italian Trade Promotion Agency is the government organization which promotes the internationalization of the Italian companies, in line with the strategies of the Ministry for Economic Development. Ice provides in- formation, support and advice to Italian and foreign companies. In addition to its Rome headquarters, Ice operates worldwide from a large network of Trade Promotion Offices linked to Italian embassies and consulates and work- ing closely with local authorities and businesses. Ice provides a wide range of services overseas helping Italian and foreign businesses to connect with each other
About The Films
Dormant Beauty (Bella Addormentata)
Release Date: Tbc Director: Marco Bellocchio Producer: Riccardo Tozzi, Fabio Conversi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Sta- bilini
Screenplay: Marco Bellocchio, Veronica Raimo, Stefano Rulli Cast: Toni Servillo, Isabelle Huppert, Alba Rohrwacher Festivals: Venice 2012, Toronto 2012
Three stories, taking place over the course of a few days, involving a con- science-stricken politician, an obsessive mother and two young protestors on different sides, are skillfully interwoven in this gripping, beautifully realized film. Set against the background of the emotional and controversial real-life 2008 euthanasia case of Eluana Englaro, Dormant Beauty is a subtle and complex depiction of recent Italian history.
The Great Beauty
(released by Janus Films) - In Release Director: Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo) Producer: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima Screenwriter: Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello Cast: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferrili, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, Pamela Villoresi, Galatea Ranzi with Massimo de Francovich, Roberto Herlitzka, and with Isabella Ferrari Festivals: Cannes (Competition) 2013, Toronto 2013, AFI 2013, Italy’s Official Entry to the 2014 Academy Awards Awards: 4 European Film Award nominations (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and winner for Best Editing), Best Foreign Film nominee for British In- dependent Film Awards
Journalist Jep Gambardella (the dazzling Toni Servillo, Il Divo and Go- Morrah) has charmed and seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades. Since the legendary success of his one and only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in the city's literary and social circles, but when his sixty-fifth birthday coincides with a shock from the past, Jep finds himself unexpectedly taking stock of his life, turning his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, and looking past the extravagant nightclubs, parties, and cafés to find Rome in all its glory: a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
Honey (Miele)
Release Date: March 7, 2014 Director: Valeria Golino Producer: Viola Prestieri, Riccardo Scamarcio, Anne-Dominique Toussaint, Raphael Berdugo Screenplay: Valeria Golino, Valia Santella, Francesca Marciano, from the novel by Angela Del Fabbro with the same title Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Carlo Cecchi, Libero De Rienzo, Vinicio Marchioni, Iaia Forte, Roberto De Francesco, Barbara Ronchi, Claudio Guain, Teresa Acerbis, Valeria Bilello, Massimiliano Iacolucci Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard) 2013, Toronto 2013 Prizes: Winner Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury, Cannes 2013 Nominated for European Discovery at the European Film Awards 2013
Actress Valeria Golino makes her directing debut with Honey. Irene lives alone on the coastline outside Rome. To her father and her married lover, she’s a student. In reality, she often travels to Mexico where she can legally buy a powerful barbiturate. Working under the name of Miele ("Honey"), her clandestine job is to help terminally-ill people to die with dignity by giving them the drug. One day she supplies a new “client” with a fatal dose, only to find out he’s perfectly healthy but tired of life. Irene is determined not to be responsible for his suicide. From this point on, Irene and Grimaldi are unwill- ingly locked in an intense and moving relationship which will change Irene’s life forever.
L’Intrepido
Release Date - To Be Confirmed Director: Gianni Amelio Producer: Carlo Degli Esposti Screenplay: Gianni Amelio, Davide Lantieri Cast: Antonio Albanese, Sandra Ceccarelli, Livia Rossi, Gabriele Rendina, Alfonso Santagata
Festivals: Venice 2013, Toronto 2013
Set in modern day Milan, this is a Chaplinesque odyssey through the world of work – every type of work, but primarily unskilled manual labor – seen through the eyes of a kind, middle-aged man who takes on every conceivable temporary job in order to be useful and have self respect. This really is a por- trait of the highs and lows of modern life. At its heart is a sympathetic man (Antonio Albanese) who, despite loneliness and personal family problems, es- pecially around his gifted but troubled musician son, remains defiantly opti- mistic even when terrible things happen to him and the people he meets.
Me And You (Io E Te)
Release Date: To Be Confirmed
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci Screenplay: Bernardo Bertolucci, Niccolo Ammaniti, Umberto Contarello Producer: Mario Gianani Cast: Tea Falco, Jacopo Olmo Antinori Festivals: Cannes, Toronto
Lorenzo, a solitary 14-year-old with difficulties relating to his daily life and the world around him, chooses to spend a week hidden in the basement of his house. But Lorenzo’s fragile and rebellious stepsister, Olivia, appears at her brother’s place of refuge and disturbs the quiet.
- 2/10/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Those Happy Years
Written by Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli and Caterina Venturini
Directed by Daniele Luchetti
Italy/France, 2013
In 2007, Daniele Luchetti garnered international attention with My Brother Is an Only Child, a nostalgic look at a pair of brothers in 1960s and 1970s Italy who find themselves on opposite sides of the political spectrum but loving the same woman. With Those Happy Years, Luchetti returns to the past once more, this time looking at family dynamics with the backdrop of art rather than politics.
The film tells the story of artist and art teacher Guido (Kim Rossi Stuart), who is struggling both to gain the notoriety as an artist that he seeks and to provide for his wife Serena (Micaela Ramazzotti) and children Dario (Samuel Garofalo) and Paolo (Niccolo Calvagna). Serena, on the other hand, cares little for art and instead just wants Guido to turn his attention to her.
Written by Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli and Caterina Venturini
Directed by Daniele Luchetti
Italy/France, 2013
In 2007, Daniele Luchetti garnered international attention with My Brother Is an Only Child, a nostalgic look at a pair of brothers in 1960s and 1970s Italy who find themselves on opposite sides of the political spectrum but loving the same woman. With Those Happy Years, Luchetti returns to the past once more, this time looking at family dynamics with the backdrop of art rather than politics.
The film tells the story of artist and art teacher Guido (Kim Rossi Stuart), who is struggling both to gain the notoriety as an artist that he seeks and to provide for his wife Serena (Micaela Ramazzotti) and children Dario (Samuel Garofalo) and Paolo (Niccolo Calvagna). Serena, on the other hand, cares little for art and instead just wants Guido to turn his attention to her.
- 9/20/2013
- by Laura Holtebrinck
- SoundOnSight
Wrekin Hill Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to Gabriele Salvatores’ Siberian Education. Based on the novel by Nicolai Lilin, with a screenplay by Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli and Salvatores, the film stars John Malkovich, Arnas Feravicius, Vilius Tumalavicius, Eleanor Tomlinson, Peter Stormare, Jonas Trukanas and Vitalji Porsnev. Set in the ghetto of Soviet Russia, Siberian Education follows the path of two boys who are members of a gang of exiled Siberians. The best friends grow up together, mastering a unique education focused on illegal arts such as theft, banditry and weaponry. Their clan has its very own stringent code of honor, which, while criminal, sometimes actually coincides with what is generally considered ethical and moral. It is a code that must never be broken, no matter what. As the boys turn to men, everything they have come to know and learn is tested. The film’s produced by Catteya’s Riccardo Tozzi,...
- 5/19/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Wrekin Hill Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Gabriele Salvatores’ Siberian Education, starring John Malkovich, Arnas Feravicius, Vilius Tumalavicius, Eleanor Tomlinson, Peter Stormare, Jonas Trukanas and Vitalji Porsnev. Wrekin Hill, headed by president and CEO Chris Ball, plans to release the film in late 2013. It has already been released in several territories, including Italy where it has taken in more than $6 million at the box office. Photos: Radiant 'X-Men' Star Fan Bingbing Honored at Glittery Cannes Fest Based on the novel by Nicolai Lilin, with a screenplay by Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli and Salvatores, the
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- 5/19/2013
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mythological Story of My Family (a.k.a. Storia mitologica della mia familia) to star Kim Rossi Stuart in Daniel Luchetti-directed autobiographical film The film set in 1968 Rome during summer, follows the breakup of a couple of from different backgrounds, after the woman falls for another woman. Apparently the story is told from the ten-year-old son's point of view. Ouch! Not something I'll be watching with having my own kids. Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia are scripting based on Luchetti's real family life, reports Variety. ThinkFILM released the helmer's 2007 film My Brother is an Only Child, which won numerous European awards...
- 5/24/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Mythological Story of My Family (a.k.a. Storia mitologica della mia familia) to star Kim Rossi Stuart in Daniel Luchetti-directed autobiographical film The film set in 1968 Rome during summer, follows the breakup of a couple of from different backgrounds, after the woman falls for another woman. Apparently the story is told from the ten-year-old son's point of view. Ouch! Not something I'll be watching with having my own kids. Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia are scripting based on Luchetti's real family life, reports Variety. ThinkFILM released the helmer's 2007 film My Brother is an Only Child, which won numerous European awards...
- 5/24/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
After making his directorial debut four decades ago with “Fists in the Pocket,” Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio has tackled many genres and styles, but one consistent characteristic has been his savage socio-political themes and undertones. His 2010 film, “Vincere,” proved to be the most explosive yet, capturing disgraced Italian leader Benito Mussolini’s rise to power from his abandoned wife’s perspective, and now he plans to do it again, this time with one of the world’s most talented actresses in tow.
Cineuropa reports that Bellocchio will explore the right-to-die issue with “Sleeping Beauty,” which follows three interconnected storylines against the backdrop of Italy’s 2009 Eluana Englaro controversy. “The Best of Youth” scribe Stefano Rulli and novelist Veronica Naimo supplied the script, which follows in one storyline a retired movie star, played by Isabelle Huppert, as she cares for her comatose daughter, and in another thread, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher...
Cineuropa reports that Bellocchio will explore the right-to-die issue with “Sleeping Beauty,” which follows three interconnected storylines against the backdrop of Italy’s 2009 Eluana Englaro controversy. “The Best of Youth” scribe Stefano Rulli and novelist Veronica Naimo supplied the script, which follows in one storyline a retired movie star, played by Isabelle Huppert, as she cares for her comatose daughter, and in another thread, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher...
- 5/15/2012
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
John Malkovich is one hell of an awesome actor, and he is set to star in a new indie film project called Siberian Education. The movie will be directed by Italian filmmaker Gabriele Salvatores (I'm Not Scared), from a script written by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores.
The film is an adaptation from Nicolai Lilin's autobiographical book of the same title and follows his story "about growing up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, between Moldova and Ukraine."Malkovich will take on the role of Grandfather Kuzja, "who teaches his grandson Kolyma (played by Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius) the morals of honest criminals."
Siberian Education is set in Southern Russia between 1985 and 1995, and the film will start shooting at the end of August, nearly entirely in Lithuania, with some shooting set for Italy, during summer and winter.
This will be yet...
The film is an adaptation from Nicolai Lilin's autobiographical book of the same title and follows his story "about growing up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, between Moldova and Ukraine."Malkovich will take on the role of Grandfather Kuzja, "who teaches his grandson Kolyma (played by Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius) the morals of honest criminals."
Siberian Education is set in Southern Russia between 1985 and 1995, and the film will start shooting at the end of August, nearly entirely in Lithuania, with some shooting set for Italy, during summer and winter.
This will be yet...
- 7/6/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
After the long Fourth of July weekend we don't have a lot of news on the casting front, but there are a few good stories to share, and they're all in a similar vein. Today, the theme is crime pictures. After the break you'll find info on the following: John Malkovich is taking the lead in Siberian Education, which chronicles the culture of crime in a small community near the Ukraine. Parker, the new screen version of Richard Stark's classic crime character, gets two supporting players. And French film The Lookout casts Daniel Auteuil as a cop out to catch a sharpshooter who ruined a well-laid police plan. Variety [1] reports that John Malkovich will play Grandfather Kuzja in Siberian Eductation, which Gabriele Salvatores (I'm Not Scared) will direct based on the autobiographical book by Nicolai Lilin. (Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Gabriele Salvatores scripted.) The book follows "the Mafia-like...
- 7/5/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
John Malkovich has signed up for Siberian Education, the movie adaptation of Nicolai Lilin’s autobiography.
The Oscar-nominated star of In The Line Of Fire and Places In The Heart will play Grandfather Kuzja, who teaches grandson Kolyma (Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius) how to be an “honest” criminal.
Lilin’s memoir tells of his upbringing in Transnistria, a small republic between Moldova and Ukraine. Born into a leading criminal dynasty beyond the control of any government, he was in possession of a firearm and sentenced for attempted murder by the age of 12.
Gabriele Salvatores (I’m Not Scared, Quo Vadis, Baby?) will direct the film, adapted for the big screen by himself, Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia.
Malkovich can currently be seen as Shia Labeouf’s boss in Transformers 3 - The Dark Of The Moon, currently leading Box Office charts around the world. The film enjoyed the highest-grossing Fourth...
The Oscar-nominated star of In The Line Of Fire and Places In The Heart will play Grandfather Kuzja, who teaches grandson Kolyma (Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius) how to be an “honest” criminal.
Lilin’s memoir tells of his upbringing in Transnistria, a small republic between Moldova and Ukraine. Born into a leading criminal dynasty beyond the control of any government, he was in possession of a firearm and sentenced for attempted murder by the age of 12.
Gabriele Salvatores (I’m Not Scared, Quo Vadis, Baby?) will direct the film, adapted for the big screen by himself, Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia.
Malkovich can currently be seen as Shia Labeouf’s boss in Transformers 3 - The Dark Of The Moon, currently leading Box Office charts around the world. The film enjoyed the highest-grossing Fourth...
- 7/5/2011
- by editorial@lovefilm.com (Shaun Kitchner)
- LOVEFiLM
John Malkovich has signed on to star in Siberian Education, an adaptation of the Nicolai Lilin autobiography of the same name. Lilin grew up in Transnitria, a lawless community between Moldova and Ukraine that still maintains a strict moral code. According to Variety, Malkovich will play "Grandfather Kuzja, who teaches his grandson Kolyma (played by Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius) the morals of "honest criminals.'" Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia, and director Gabriele Salvatores (I'm Not Scared) collaborated on the screenplay, set in 1985-1995. The international production starts shooting in Lithuania at the end of August -- a few scenes will film in Italy. Read the book synopsis after the break. In a contested, lawless region between Moldova and Ukraine known as Transnistria, a tightly knit group of "honest criminals"—exiled there by Stalin-live according to strict codes of ritualized respect and fierce loyalty. Here, tattoos tell the story of a man's life,...
- 7/5/2011
- by Brendan Bettinger
- Collider.com
John Malkovich is tapped to star in Siberian Education, an adaptation of Nicolai Lilin’s autobiographical novel.
The new feature by Italian director Gabriele Salvatores (I’m Not Scared) is based on a script penned by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores himself.
Malkovich plays the role of the great teacher, an elder of the community, the “grandfather” Kuzja, the greatest interpreter in the Transnistrian exile in the Taiga by the Urka. He trains his grandson Kolyma, portrayed by Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius, the morals of “honest criminals.” on the basis of the illegal ethics of a rigid ethnic group, forever hostile to Moscow’s authoritarian power and obliged to achieve respect using power in a region in which authorities had concentrated the worst of the Soviet Union’s criminals.
This is, as well, a tale of an extreme childhood – exotic, violent and completely unique. Nicolai Lilin’s education was a remarkable upbringing,...
The new feature by Italian director Gabriele Salvatores (I’m Not Scared) is based on a script penned by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores himself.
Malkovich plays the role of the great teacher, an elder of the community, the “grandfather” Kuzja, the greatest interpreter in the Transnistrian exile in the Taiga by the Urka. He trains his grandson Kolyma, portrayed by Lithuanian actor Arnas Fedaravicius, the morals of “honest criminals.” on the basis of the illegal ethics of a rigid ethnic group, forever hostile to Moscow’s authoritarian power and obliged to achieve respect using power in a region in which authorities had concentrated the worst of the Soviet Union’s criminals.
This is, as well, a tale of an extreme childhood – exotic, violent and completely unique. Nicolai Lilin’s education was a remarkable upbringing,...
- 7/4/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
John Malkovich is set to star in the Russian crime drama "Siberian Education" reports Variety.
An adaptation of Nicolai Lilin's autobiographical book, the story is set in southern Russia in the late 80's and follows a man who grows up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, between Moldova and Ukraine.
Malkovich plays the role of Grandfather Kuzja, who teaches his grandson Kolyma (Arnas Fedaravicius) the morals of "honest criminals."
Italian helmer Gabriele Salvatores ("I'm Not Scared") directs from a screenplay by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and himself. Filming begins at the end of August in Lithuania and Italy.
An adaptation of Nicolai Lilin's autobiographical book, the story is set in southern Russia in the late 80's and follows a man who grows up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, between Moldova and Ukraine.
Malkovich plays the role of Grandfather Kuzja, who teaches his grandson Kolyma (Arnas Fedaravicius) the morals of "honest criminals."
Italian helmer Gabriele Salvatores ("I'm Not Scared") directs from a screenplay by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and himself. Filming begins at the end of August in Lithuania and Italy.
- 7/4/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Siberian Education casts John Malkovich. John Malkovich will star in Italian director Gabriele Salvatores' Siberian Education, from a script by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores, adapted from the autobiographical book by Nicolai Lilin. According to Variety, the story focuses on Lilin's growing up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, which falls between Ukraine and Moldova. Malkovich will play Grandfather Kuzja who mentors his grandson Kolyma (Arnas Fedaravicius), teaching him the morals of "honest criminals."...
- 7/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Siberian Education casts John Malkovich. John Malkovich will star in Italian director Gabriele Salvatores' Siberian Education, from a script by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores, adapted from the autobiographical book by Nicolai Lilin. According to Variety, the story focuses on Lilin's growing up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, which falls between Ukraine and Moldova. Malkovich will play Grandfather Kuzja who mentors his grandson Kolyma (Arnas Fedaravicius), teaching him the morals of "honest criminals."...
- 7/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Siberian Education casts John Malkovich. John Malkovich will star in Italian director Gabriele Salvatores' Siberian Education, from a script by Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia and Salvatores, adapted from the autobiographical book by Nicolai Lilin. According to Variety, the story focuses on Lilin's growing up as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, which falls between Ukraine and Moldova. Malkovich will play Grandfather Kuzja who mentors his grandson Kolyma (Arnas Fedaravicius), teaching him the morals of "honest criminals."...
- 7/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
- There are films where the reward comes in sticking it out till the end - as was the case with Best of Youth (the 6-hour Italian tele-film, generational period piece that Miramax packaged as two separate films for a short theatrical release). For those who like their gelato and Italanio history, Th!NKFilm's latest import My Brother Is An Only Child has many similarities with the former - both are co-scripted by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli and both look at national identity during turbulent times. The company eventually decided to take a title that they were handling internationally and bring about a domestic release. Coming out later this month, this has received international accolades (here is my Cannes review) and below you'll find the Na poster one sheet. Set in a small Italian town in the 60’s and 70’s, the film tells the story of two brothers who
- 3/4/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Crime Novel
BERLIN -- This Italian gangster movie is based on a novel titled "Crime Novel" (Romanzo Criminale). So why not call this "Crime Movie"? Because even though the story reputedly portrays a real gang of street punks that did rise to some power in Rome from 1977-92, the movie feels totally generic. We've seen all these moves before -- all these massacres, betrayals, drug deals and double crosses, the intrepid police inspector, great whore, merciless leader and the falling out among gang members once delusions of grandeur or grasps at respectability go to their tiny brains.
Truth be told, when moviemakers go up against Coppola or Scorsese, they need charismatic characters and a wicked story line. Alas, Michele Placido and writers Giancarlo De Cataldo, Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia, adapting De Cataldo's novel, are stuck with cruel characters and crude action that provoke little excitement.
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the producers of "Crime Novel", but there probably isn't too much domestic coin to be made from the film. It should do well in action markets and could turn up at a festival here or there.
On the plus side, Placido does give audiences juicy action and superficial though lively characters. He even has an eye for tourist sights. A clandestine meeting takes place in front of the ancient Forum. A girl brings her gangster date to an old church to admire its Caravaggio. A guy gets knifed to death on the Spanish Steps. You half expect a bloody body to get dumped into the Trevi Fountain.
These gangsters come from the streets and never really clean up their act. As kids, they joyride in a stolen car through a police blockade and over a cop, an act that lands several in prison. They emerge as hardened criminals, each with his own criminal moniker.
Lebanese (a scruffy-bearded Pierfrancesco Favino) is the natural born leader, uncompromising in his brutality but untutored in the subtleties of dealing with Mafia dons, terrorists or the Secret Service. Ice (handsome Kim Rossi Stuart) actually has smoothness, as he comes from wealth. He eventually tires of the whole criminal experience, perhaps because of his love for Roberta (beautiful Jasmine Trinca), an innocent art lover unaware of her boyfriend's occupation.
Dandy (the equally handsome Claudio Santamaria) also longs to be "normal," but that doesn't mean dropping Rome's greatest prostitute, Patrizia (sultry Anna Mouglalis), as his lover. He even sets her up with her own luxury bordello.
The police are absorbed in a battle with homegrown terrorists during this time, so it falls to Capt. Scialoja (Stefano Accorsi) to dog the gang's every step for years. In doing so, he forms an ambiguous relationship with Patrizia; indeed he may be her only lover to actually love her.
The film interweaves the gang's activities with major events in recent Italian history, especially the Red Brigade terror. The film hints that the gang may have crossed over into working with terrorists, but this is never completely clear.
Eventually, the endless killings and emotional face-offs between the gang members as they predictably fall out become numbingly repetitive. So muddled is the action that one can be excused for missing a plot point or misidentifying a character.
Luca Bigazzi's camera is fluid and alive to the action. Nicoletta Taranta's stylish period costumes and Paola Comencini's sets are magazine-quality. A score of pop hits of the era and Paolo Buonvino's lush, ominous music put plenty of flavors into these Roman rumblings. But as one Mafia don says, there have been too many killings by this rudderless gang and " 'too much' is the enemy of fairness." That is an apt criticism of this movie, too.
CRIME NOVEL
Cattleya/Warner Bros. Pictures
Credits:
Director: Michele Placido
Screenwriters: Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia, Giancarlo De Cataldo
Based on the novel by: Giancarlo De Cataldo
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz
Director of photography: Luca Bigazzi
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Music: Paolo Buonvino
Costumes: Nicoletta Taranta
Editor: Esmeralda Calabria
Cast:
Ice: Kim Rossi Stuart
Patrizia: Anna Mouglalis
Lebanese: Pierfrancesco Favino
Dandy: Claudio Santamaria
Scialoja: Stefano Accorsi
Black: Riccardo Scamarcio
Roberta: Jasmine Trinca
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 153 minutes...
Truth be told, when moviemakers go up against Coppola or Scorsese, they need charismatic characters and a wicked story line. Alas, Michele Placido and writers Giancarlo De Cataldo, Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia, adapting De Cataldo's novel, are stuck with cruel characters and crude action that provoke little excitement.
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the producers of "Crime Novel", but there probably isn't too much domestic coin to be made from the film. It should do well in action markets and could turn up at a festival here or there.
On the plus side, Placido does give audiences juicy action and superficial though lively characters. He even has an eye for tourist sights. A clandestine meeting takes place in front of the ancient Forum. A girl brings her gangster date to an old church to admire its Caravaggio. A guy gets knifed to death on the Spanish Steps. You half expect a bloody body to get dumped into the Trevi Fountain.
These gangsters come from the streets and never really clean up their act. As kids, they joyride in a stolen car through a police blockade and over a cop, an act that lands several in prison. They emerge as hardened criminals, each with his own criminal moniker.
Lebanese (a scruffy-bearded Pierfrancesco Favino) is the natural born leader, uncompromising in his brutality but untutored in the subtleties of dealing with Mafia dons, terrorists or the Secret Service. Ice (handsome Kim Rossi Stuart) actually has smoothness, as he comes from wealth. He eventually tires of the whole criminal experience, perhaps because of his love for Roberta (beautiful Jasmine Trinca), an innocent art lover unaware of her boyfriend's occupation.
Dandy (the equally handsome Claudio Santamaria) also longs to be "normal," but that doesn't mean dropping Rome's greatest prostitute, Patrizia (sultry Anna Mouglalis), as his lover. He even sets her up with her own luxury bordello.
The police are absorbed in a battle with homegrown terrorists during this time, so it falls to Capt. Scialoja (Stefano Accorsi) to dog the gang's every step for years. In doing so, he forms an ambiguous relationship with Patrizia; indeed he may be her only lover to actually love her.
The film interweaves the gang's activities with major events in recent Italian history, especially the Red Brigade terror. The film hints that the gang may have crossed over into working with terrorists, but this is never completely clear.
Eventually, the endless killings and emotional face-offs between the gang members as they predictably fall out become numbingly repetitive. So muddled is the action that one can be excused for missing a plot point or misidentifying a character.
Luca Bigazzi's camera is fluid and alive to the action. Nicoletta Taranta's stylish period costumes and Paola Comencini's sets are magazine-quality. A score of pop hits of the era and Paolo Buonvino's lush, ominous music put plenty of flavors into these Roman rumblings. But as one Mafia don says, there have been too many killings by this rudderless gang and " 'too much' is the enemy of fairness." That is an apt criticism of this movie, too.
CRIME NOVEL
Cattleya/Warner Bros. Pictures
Credits:
Director: Michele Placido
Screenwriters: Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia, Giancarlo De Cataldo
Based on the novel by: Giancarlo De Cataldo
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz
Director of photography: Luca Bigazzi
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Music: Paolo Buonvino
Costumes: Nicoletta Taranta
Editor: Esmeralda Calabria
Cast:
Ice: Kim Rossi Stuart
Patrizia: Anna Mouglalis
Lebanese: Pierfrancesco Favino
Dandy: Claudio Santamaria
Scialoja: Stefano Accorsi
Black: Riccardo Scamarcio
Roberta: Jasmine Trinca
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 153 minutes...
- 2/15/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Best of Youth
Toronto International Film Festival
Spanning four decades in late 20th century Italy, Marco Tullio Giordana's "The Best of Youth" (La Meglio Gioventu) focuses on the intimate lives of two brothers who take divergent paths, as well as those of friends, lovers and children whose ideals are challenged by events and tragedies in their lives.
Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli approach their screenplay in a novelistic manner, using a six-hour-plus running time to layer in the details of these lives. This recent Miramax acquisition was originally filmed for Italian television, which explains the length of a movie presented theatrically in two parts. The film proved a major theatrical hit in Italy, but its length limits North American boxoffice to dedicated cineastes and festivalgoers. They will be amply rewarded.
The film begins in 1966, the year of the flood in Florence that brought out legions of young people determined to save that city's heritage of art and literature. It ends in the present day, which contains the film's only hint of magic realism. These years encompass the political upheaval of 1968 in Western Europe, where young people felt they could change the world
the tragedy of terrorism in the 1970s
the ups and downs of the economy
the Falcone assassination in 1992
and diversion of many characters' energies into family life and coming to terms with feelings of alienation and regret.
Of the brothers we meet in 1966, Matteo (Alessio Boni) is the more withdrawn and sullen, a man sensitive to the wrongs of society but one prone to fits of temper and frustration when things don't go his way. Nicola Luigi Lo Cascio) is more open and loving, at ease with women but reserved, engaged with the world and a seeker of love.
At a job in a mental hospital, Matteo meets Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), a severely disturbed young woman who is being given electroshock therapy, the barbarity of which outrages him. When he, his brother and two pals take off on a summer trip to Norway, Matteo kidnaps Giorgia with the vague idea of rescuing her and returning her to her family. Only the family doesn't want her, and police pick her up at a train station.
Discouraged, Matteo abandons Nicola to return to Rome and impulsively joins the army rather than continuing with his studies. Nicola makes his way to Norway, where, out of money, he takes work in a lumber mill. He returns home to help in the flood in Florence, where he meets Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco), a free-spirited woman who becomes his lover and mother of his child, Sara.
Perhaps inspired by his encounter with Giorgia, Nicola pursues a career in psychiatry in Turin. Meanwhile, Matteo's career in the army and police -- jobs he seeks because they have "rules" -- is often jeopardized by a rebellious streak and violent behavior.
While on duty in Sicily in the late '70s, Matteo meets Mirella (Maya Sansa), a young photographer he will later encounter in Rome. They have a brief affair before tragedy overtakes Matteo. Meanwhile, Giulia becomes increasingly radicalized and deserts Nicola and Sara to enter the shadowy world of terrorism. Eventually, Nicola is faced with the decision of whether to aid police in capturing his ex-lover before she kills someone.
Perhaps the strongest influence here is Francois Truffaut in his early "Jules et Jim" period. For Giordana is less interested in social and political history than in how people fall in and out of love, how families operate and the role friendships play in the characters' lives. Giordana moves beyond psychology, viewing characters' behavior without trying to fully understand or explain them.
Lo Cascio and Boni inhabit their roles with keen intellectual and emotional vigor. Bergamasco and Sansa deliver sensitive portraits of conflicted women who struggle to bridge the gap between personal desires and responsibilities to others.
Production designer Franco Ceraolo and cinematographer Roberto Forza, shooting in Super 16mm, ably convey the changing landscape of Italy. The film's soundtrack consists in large measure of terrific pop songs from different eras.
THE BEST OF YOUTH
Miramax Films
Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana presents a Rai Fiction production
Credits:
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Screenwriters: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli
Producer: Angelo Barbagallo
Director of photography: Roberto Forza
Production designer: Franco Ceraolo
Costume designer: Elisabetta Montaldo
Editor: Roberto Missiroli
Cast:
Nicola: Luigi Lo Cascio
Matteo: Alessio Boni
Giulia: Sonia Bergamasco
Carlo: Fabrizio
Mirella: Maya Sansa
Francesca: Valentina Carnelutti
Giorgia: Jasmine Trinca
Angelo: Andrea Tidona
Running time -- 373 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Spanning four decades in late 20th century Italy, Marco Tullio Giordana's "The Best of Youth" (La Meglio Gioventu) focuses on the intimate lives of two brothers who take divergent paths, as well as those of friends, lovers and children whose ideals are challenged by events and tragedies in their lives.
Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli approach their screenplay in a novelistic manner, using a six-hour-plus running time to layer in the details of these lives. This recent Miramax acquisition was originally filmed for Italian television, which explains the length of a movie presented theatrically in two parts. The film proved a major theatrical hit in Italy, but its length limits North American boxoffice to dedicated cineastes and festivalgoers. They will be amply rewarded.
The film begins in 1966, the year of the flood in Florence that brought out legions of young people determined to save that city's heritage of art and literature. It ends in the present day, which contains the film's only hint of magic realism. These years encompass the political upheaval of 1968 in Western Europe, where young people felt they could change the world
the tragedy of terrorism in the 1970s
the ups and downs of the economy
the Falcone assassination in 1992
and diversion of many characters' energies into family life and coming to terms with feelings of alienation and regret.
Of the brothers we meet in 1966, Matteo (Alessio Boni) is the more withdrawn and sullen, a man sensitive to the wrongs of society but one prone to fits of temper and frustration when things don't go his way. Nicola Luigi Lo Cascio) is more open and loving, at ease with women but reserved, engaged with the world and a seeker of love.
At a job in a mental hospital, Matteo meets Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), a severely disturbed young woman who is being given electroshock therapy, the barbarity of which outrages him. When he, his brother and two pals take off on a summer trip to Norway, Matteo kidnaps Giorgia with the vague idea of rescuing her and returning her to her family. Only the family doesn't want her, and police pick her up at a train station.
Discouraged, Matteo abandons Nicola to return to Rome and impulsively joins the army rather than continuing with his studies. Nicola makes his way to Norway, where, out of money, he takes work in a lumber mill. He returns home to help in the flood in Florence, where he meets Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco), a free-spirited woman who becomes his lover and mother of his child, Sara.
Perhaps inspired by his encounter with Giorgia, Nicola pursues a career in psychiatry in Turin. Meanwhile, Matteo's career in the army and police -- jobs he seeks because they have "rules" -- is often jeopardized by a rebellious streak and violent behavior.
While on duty in Sicily in the late '70s, Matteo meets Mirella (Maya Sansa), a young photographer he will later encounter in Rome. They have a brief affair before tragedy overtakes Matteo. Meanwhile, Giulia becomes increasingly radicalized and deserts Nicola and Sara to enter the shadowy world of terrorism. Eventually, Nicola is faced with the decision of whether to aid police in capturing his ex-lover before she kills someone.
Perhaps the strongest influence here is Francois Truffaut in his early "Jules et Jim" period. For Giordana is less interested in social and political history than in how people fall in and out of love, how families operate and the role friendships play in the characters' lives. Giordana moves beyond psychology, viewing characters' behavior without trying to fully understand or explain them.
Lo Cascio and Boni inhabit their roles with keen intellectual and emotional vigor. Bergamasco and Sansa deliver sensitive portraits of conflicted women who struggle to bridge the gap between personal desires and responsibilities to others.
Production designer Franco Ceraolo and cinematographer Roberto Forza, shooting in Super 16mm, ably convey the changing landscape of Italy. The film's soundtrack consists in large measure of terrific pop songs from different eras.
THE BEST OF YOUTH
Miramax Films
Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana presents a Rai Fiction production
Credits:
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Screenwriters: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli
Producer: Angelo Barbagallo
Director of photography: Roberto Forza
Production designer: Franco Ceraolo
Costume designer: Elisabetta Montaldo
Editor: Roberto Missiroli
Cast:
Nicola: Luigi Lo Cascio
Matteo: Alessio Boni
Giulia: Sonia Bergamasco
Carlo: Fabrizio
Mirella: Maya Sansa
Francesca: Valentina Carnelutti
Giorgia: Jasmine Trinca
Angelo: Andrea Tidona
Running time -- 373 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/9/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Best of Youth
Toronto International Film Festival
Spanning four decades in late 20th century Italy, Marco Tullio Giordana's "The Best of Youth" (La Meglio Gioventu) focuses on the intimate lives of two brothers who take divergent paths, as well as those of friends, lovers and children whose ideals are challenged by events and tragedies in their lives.
Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli approach their screenplay in a novelistic manner, using a six-hour-plus running time to layer in the details of these lives. This recent Miramax acquisition was originally filmed for Italian television, which explains the length of a movie presented theatrically in two parts. The film proved a major theatrical hit in Italy, but its length limits North American boxoffice to dedicated cineastes and festivalgoers. They will be amply rewarded.
The film begins in 1966, the year of the flood in Florence that brought out legions of young people determined to save that city's heritage of art and literature. It ends in the present day, which contains the film's only hint of magic realism. These years encompass the political upheaval of 1968 in Western Europe, where young people felt they could change the world
the tragedy of terrorism in the 1970s
the ups and downs of the economy
the Falcone assassination in 1992
and diversion of many characters' energies into family life and coming to terms with feelings of alienation and regret.
Of the brothers we meet in 1966, Matteo (Alessio Boni) is the more withdrawn and sullen, a man sensitive to the wrongs of society but one prone to fits of temper and frustration when things don't go his way. Nicola Luigi Lo Cascio) is more open and loving, at ease with women but reserved, engaged with the world and a seeker of love.
At a job in a mental hospital, Matteo meets Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), a severely disturbed young woman who is being given electroshock therapy, the barbarity of which outrages him. When he, his brother and two pals take off on a summer trip to Norway, Matteo kidnaps Giorgia with the vague idea of rescuing her and returning her to her family. Only the family doesn't want her, and police pick her up at a train station.
Discouraged, Matteo abandons Nicola to return to Rome and impulsively joins the army rather than continuing with his studies. Nicola makes his way to Norway, where, out of money, he takes work in a lumber mill. He returns home to help in the flood in Florence, where he meets Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco), a free-spirited woman who becomes his lover and mother of his child, Sara.
Perhaps inspired by his encounter with Giorgia, Nicola pursues a career in psychiatry in Turin. Meanwhile, Matteo's career in the army and police -- jobs he seeks because they have "rules" -- is often jeopardized by a rebellious streak and violent behavior.
While on duty in Sicily in the late '70s, Matteo meets Mirella (Maya Sansa), a young photographer he will later encounter in Rome. They have a brief affair before tragedy overtakes Matteo. Meanwhile, Giulia becomes increasingly radicalized and deserts Nicola and Sara to enter the shadowy world of terrorism. Eventually, Nicola is faced with the decision of whether to aid police in capturing his ex-lover before she kills someone.
Perhaps the strongest influence here is Francois Truffaut in his early "Jules et Jim" period. For Giordana is less interested in social and political history than in how people fall in and out of love, how families operate and the role friendships play in the characters' lives. Giordana moves beyond psychology, viewing characters' behavior without trying to fully understand or explain them.
Lo Cascio and Boni inhabit their roles with keen intellectual and emotional vigor. Bergamasco and Sansa deliver sensitive portraits of conflicted women who struggle to bridge the gap between personal desires and responsibilities to others.
Production designer Franco Ceraolo and cinematographer Roberto Forza, shooting in Super 16mm, ably convey the changing landscape of Italy. The film's soundtrack consists in large measure of terrific pop songs from different eras.
THE BEST OF YOUTH
Miramax Films
Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana presents a Rai Fiction production
Credits:
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Screenwriters: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli
Producer: Angelo Barbagallo
Director of photography: Roberto Forza
Production designer: Franco Ceraolo
Costume designer: Elisabetta Montaldo
Editor: Roberto Missiroli
Cast:
Nicola: Luigi Lo Cascio
Matteo: Alessio Boni
Giulia: Sonia Bergamasco
Carlo: Fabrizio
Mirella: Maya Sansa
Francesca: Valentina Carnelutti
Giorgia: Jasmine Trinca
Angelo: Andrea Tidona
Running time -- 373 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Spanning four decades in late 20th century Italy, Marco Tullio Giordana's "The Best of Youth" (La Meglio Gioventu) focuses on the intimate lives of two brothers who take divergent paths, as well as those of friends, lovers and children whose ideals are challenged by events and tragedies in their lives.
Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli approach their screenplay in a novelistic manner, using a six-hour-plus running time to layer in the details of these lives. This recent Miramax acquisition was originally filmed for Italian television, which explains the length of a movie presented theatrically in two parts. The film proved a major theatrical hit in Italy, but its length limits North American boxoffice to dedicated cineastes and festivalgoers. They will be amply rewarded.
The film begins in 1966, the year of the flood in Florence that brought out legions of young people determined to save that city's heritage of art and literature. It ends in the present day, which contains the film's only hint of magic realism. These years encompass the political upheaval of 1968 in Western Europe, where young people felt they could change the world
the tragedy of terrorism in the 1970s
the ups and downs of the economy
the Falcone assassination in 1992
and diversion of many characters' energies into family life and coming to terms with feelings of alienation and regret.
Of the brothers we meet in 1966, Matteo (Alessio Boni) is the more withdrawn and sullen, a man sensitive to the wrongs of society but one prone to fits of temper and frustration when things don't go his way. Nicola Luigi Lo Cascio) is more open and loving, at ease with women but reserved, engaged with the world and a seeker of love.
At a job in a mental hospital, Matteo meets Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), a severely disturbed young woman who is being given electroshock therapy, the barbarity of which outrages him. When he, his brother and two pals take off on a summer trip to Norway, Matteo kidnaps Giorgia with the vague idea of rescuing her and returning her to her family. Only the family doesn't want her, and police pick her up at a train station.
Discouraged, Matteo abandons Nicola to return to Rome and impulsively joins the army rather than continuing with his studies. Nicola makes his way to Norway, where, out of money, he takes work in a lumber mill. He returns home to help in the flood in Florence, where he meets Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco), a free-spirited woman who becomes his lover and mother of his child, Sara.
Perhaps inspired by his encounter with Giorgia, Nicola pursues a career in psychiatry in Turin. Meanwhile, Matteo's career in the army and police -- jobs he seeks because they have "rules" -- is often jeopardized by a rebellious streak and violent behavior.
While on duty in Sicily in the late '70s, Matteo meets Mirella (Maya Sansa), a young photographer he will later encounter in Rome. They have a brief affair before tragedy overtakes Matteo. Meanwhile, Giulia becomes increasingly radicalized and deserts Nicola and Sara to enter the shadowy world of terrorism. Eventually, Nicola is faced with the decision of whether to aid police in capturing his ex-lover before she kills someone.
Perhaps the strongest influence here is Francois Truffaut in his early "Jules et Jim" period. For Giordana is less interested in social and political history than in how people fall in and out of love, how families operate and the role friendships play in the characters' lives. Giordana moves beyond psychology, viewing characters' behavior without trying to fully understand or explain them.
Lo Cascio and Boni inhabit their roles with keen intellectual and emotional vigor. Bergamasco and Sansa deliver sensitive portraits of conflicted women who struggle to bridge the gap between personal desires and responsibilities to others.
Production designer Franco Ceraolo and cinematographer Roberto Forza, shooting in Super 16mm, ably convey the changing landscape of Italy. The film's soundtrack consists in large measure of terrific pop songs from different eras.
THE BEST OF YOUTH
Miramax Films
Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana presents a Rai Fiction production
Credits:
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Screenwriters: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli
Producer: Angelo Barbagallo
Director of photography: Roberto Forza
Production designer: Franco Ceraolo
Costume designer: Elisabetta Montaldo
Editor: Roberto Missiroli
Cast:
Nicola: Luigi Lo Cascio
Matteo: Alessio Boni
Giulia: Sonia Bergamasco
Carlo: Fabrizio
Mirella: Maya Sansa
Francesca: Valentina Carnelutti
Giorgia: Jasmine Trinca
Angelo: Andrea Tidona
Running time -- 373 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Little Teachers'
Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to war we go. That's the primary emotion in this idealistic, warm but undeniably scattered story about a group of Italian university students who decide to lay down their books and fight the fascists during World War II -- that is, their own countrymen and the Germans. It's a curious offering, perhaps to demonstrate that all Italians were not on the wrong side in that titanic battle, but its dewy sensibility and atonal ruptures never fully involve us in the story line.
"The Little Teachers", the opening-night offering at the 10th annual Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival, met with the polite applause one expects from a gala crowd that is not exactly bowled over but wants to be appreciative nonetheless. Domestic distribution prospects look dim, unlike other Palm Springs opening-nighters such as "Cinema Paradiso" and "Enchanted April".
In this warm look at idealistic young men, director Daniele Luchetti's surest grasp is with the inherent comic aspects of a group of fresh-faced college boys deciding to take up arms and liberate Italy before Gen. Patton and his British counterparts roll into town. The group is led by square-jawed Gigi (Stefano Accorsi), who fancies the romantic aspects of going off to war, especially when the women wave their handkerchiefs and bat their eyes. The story strikes best in its droll sensibility as the filmmakers gently lampoon the idealism of the young, self-declared soldiers. Their idea of boot camp is not training for the rigors of hand-to-hand combat but debating the pros and cons of fascism and formulating intellectual constructs to justify their taking up arms.
These early preparation scenes are quite funny, a credit to the squadron of screenwriters (Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Domenico Starnone), but like the gaggle of schoolboy soldiers, the scripting seems a participatory democracy so unfocused and lacking in thematic substructure that the story digresses to a mountain-trek, travelogue level. In short, the narrative seems impaired by the same drawback the boy soldiers have -- no particular plan or focus. After a while, speechmaking by the scholarly soldiers, often callow and simplistic, wears thin, even in its comic dimensions.
In this post-"Saving Private Ryan" age, the battle scenes seem woefully stylized and, hence, false. Still, there's much to praise, especially Luchetti's warmly comic nurturing of the action. Unfortunately, he's leading his team in largely unmapped terrain thanks to the meandering script, and "The Little Teachers" ultimately grades as a minor disappointment despite atmospheric lensing from cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci. Indicative of the narrative's atonality, composer Dario Lucantoni's delightfully bouncy score rings true when the film is smiling at the boys' idealism but is intrusively upbeat during the battle sequences.
As the self-styled leader of the pack, Accorsi (with Stallone-like forehead and jaw) is a solid lead and well epitomizes the ambivalence of young men whose rhetoric outflanks their bravery.
THE LITTLE TEACHERS
Cecchi Gori Group
Producers: Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Rita Cecchi Gori
Director: Daniele Luchetti
Screenwriters: Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Domenico Starnone
Director of photography: Giuseppe Lanci
Editor: Patrizio Marone
Music: Dario Lucantoni
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gigi: Stefano Accorsi
Simonetta: Stefania Montorsi
Nello: Manuel Donato
Running time -- 122 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"The Little Teachers", the opening-night offering at the 10th annual Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival, met with the polite applause one expects from a gala crowd that is not exactly bowled over but wants to be appreciative nonetheless. Domestic distribution prospects look dim, unlike other Palm Springs opening-nighters such as "Cinema Paradiso" and "Enchanted April".
In this warm look at idealistic young men, director Daniele Luchetti's surest grasp is with the inherent comic aspects of a group of fresh-faced college boys deciding to take up arms and liberate Italy before Gen. Patton and his British counterparts roll into town. The group is led by square-jawed Gigi (Stefano Accorsi), who fancies the romantic aspects of going off to war, especially when the women wave their handkerchiefs and bat their eyes. The story strikes best in its droll sensibility as the filmmakers gently lampoon the idealism of the young, self-declared soldiers. Their idea of boot camp is not training for the rigors of hand-to-hand combat but debating the pros and cons of fascism and formulating intellectual constructs to justify their taking up arms.
These early preparation scenes are quite funny, a credit to the squadron of screenwriters (Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Domenico Starnone), but like the gaggle of schoolboy soldiers, the scripting seems a participatory democracy so unfocused and lacking in thematic substructure that the story digresses to a mountain-trek, travelogue level. In short, the narrative seems impaired by the same drawback the boy soldiers have -- no particular plan or focus. After a while, speechmaking by the scholarly soldiers, often callow and simplistic, wears thin, even in its comic dimensions.
In this post-"Saving Private Ryan" age, the battle scenes seem woefully stylized and, hence, false. Still, there's much to praise, especially Luchetti's warmly comic nurturing of the action. Unfortunately, he's leading his team in largely unmapped terrain thanks to the meandering script, and "The Little Teachers" ultimately grades as a minor disappointment despite atmospheric lensing from cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci. Indicative of the narrative's atonality, composer Dario Lucantoni's delightfully bouncy score rings true when the film is smiling at the boys' idealism but is intrusively upbeat during the battle sequences.
As the self-styled leader of the pack, Accorsi (with Stallone-like forehead and jaw) is a solid lead and well epitomizes the ambivalence of young men whose rhetoric outflanks their bravery.
THE LITTLE TEACHERS
Cecchi Gori Group
Producers: Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Rita Cecchi Gori
Director: Daniele Luchetti
Screenwriters: Daniele Luchetti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Domenico Starnone
Director of photography: Giuseppe Lanci
Editor: Patrizio Marone
Music: Dario Lucantoni
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gigi: Stefano Accorsi
Simonetta: Stefania Montorsi
Nello: Manuel Donato
Running time -- 122 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/11/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review:'The Truce'
In "The Truce", Francesco Rosi achieves something amazing: He's made a big, extroverted historical drama, complete with vast landscapes and swarms of extras, that also succeeds in evoking the most fragile, constantly shifting emotional states of its characters.
"The Truce" has an authentic spiritual dimension, a passion to separate the essential from the ephemeral in its exploration of human nature.
Based on Primo Levi's classic memoir "La Tregua" (The Reawakening), an account of the author's circuitous journey home to Italy after his liberation from Auschwitz in 1945, "The Truce" gets its strongest effects in some of its gentlest moments -- such as the expression of personal triumph on a man's face as he hands a precious slab of bread to a friend, realizing at that moment that despite all he's been through, his humanity hasn't been obliterated.
Levi, a research chemist by profession, described the experience of imprisonment and liberation with ferocious precision in three books, including "Survival in Auschwitz" and "Moments of Reprieve" in addition to "The Reawakening". Only a few scenes here depict the camps in operation, and then only in brief flashbacks, but their soul-squeezing atmosphere is vividly evoked in the behavior and body language of newly liberated prisoners.
Rosi has always had a special gift for using landscapes and enclosed architectural spaces expressively: the enveloping, official corridors of "Illustrious Corpses" (1976); the oddly canted perspectives of a sun-baked village perched on a mountaintop in "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979). In "The Truce", a journey from the cramped, gray chambers of Auschwitz into the desolate expanse of postwar Europe -- snaking across half the continent, deep into Russia and back out again, on foot and by train -- mirrors the expansion of constricted human spirits.
The larger mysteries of Levi's life, the evolution of the clenched prisoner of the memoirs into the acclaimed writer of playful essays and metafictional tales "The Periodic Table" and "The Monkey's Wrench" -- not to mention the forces that drove him to suicide in 1987 -- are beyond the scope of this, and perhaps any, film. But we see the beginnings of the process; and what's more, we feel them.
Rosi's sensuous approach turns out to be a perfect match for this material because so much of Levi's struggle to reconnect with the world is visual. Words like "seeing" or "observing" just don't measure up to the urgency of Levi's gaze; he seems to be interrogating reality, trying to peer all the way down into it, mining it for secrets that can help him reawaken.
John Turturro, as Levi, damps his trademark eruptive energy way down; the force of his personality remains, but as an impacted ember of intelligence. Speaking English with a soft Italian accent, Turturro shows the desperate intensity of Primo's watchfulness. "You are a scientist", a friend tells him. "You notice things". It's a description not only of a personality trait but also of the vocation Levi discovered at Auschwitz, to become a "witness" to the Holocaust. Where other prisoners burn their camp uniforms and seek to purge the experience from memory, Levi carefully saves his numbered prison shirt and wears it always under his new clothes.
There are aspects of Levi's account, especially its questing, analytical intelligence, that don't come across as powerfully onscreen as they do in print. When Turturro is required to recite some of Levi's written observations as lines of dialogue, his otherwise fine, fluid performance stiffens up.
"The Truce" is a great film in its ultimate effects, if not in every last detail. The decision to film the story in English, to build the film linguistically around Turturro, puts some of the European actors in supporting roles in an uncomfortable position, struggling with pronunciation when they should be living in the characters. Massimo Ghini, as Primo's ebullient buddy Cesare, and Agnieszka Wagner, as a radiant dumpling of a Russian nurse who plays a key role in reawakening Levi's senses, rise to the occasion. But Yugoslavian actor Rade Serbedzija turns one of Levi's pivotal traveling companions, a domineering, shrewd operator known only as the Greek, into a sub-Zorba stereotype.
In this context, though, all particular complaints are quibbles. What matters most about "The Truce" is that Rosi's magnificent film is altogether worthy of its subject.
THE TRUCE
Miramax Films
Director; Francesco Rosi
Screenplay; Francesco Rosi,
Stefano Rulli, Sandra Petraglia
Based on the book "La Tregua" (The Reawakening) by:; Primo Levi
Producers; Leo Pescarolo, Guido De Laurentiis
Directors of photography; Pasqualini De Santis, Marco Pontecorvo
Editors; Ruggero Mastroianni,
Bruno Sarandrea
Music; Luis Bacalov
Color
Cast:
Primo; John Turturro
Cesare; Massimo Ghini
The Greek; Rade Serbedzija
Daniele; Stefano Dionisi
Colonel Rovi; Teco Celio
Galina; Agnieszka Wagner
Flora; Lorenza Indovina
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
"The Truce" has an authentic spiritual dimension, a passion to separate the essential from the ephemeral in its exploration of human nature.
Based on Primo Levi's classic memoir "La Tregua" (The Reawakening), an account of the author's circuitous journey home to Italy after his liberation from Auschwitz in 1945, "The Truce" gets its strongest effects in some of its gentlest moments -- such as the expression of personal triumph on a man's face as he hands a precious slab of bread to a friend, realizing at that moment that despite all he's been through, his humanity hasn't been obliterated.
Levi, a research chemist by profession, described the experience of imprisonment and liberation with ferocious precision in three books, including "Survival in Auschwitz" and "Moments of Reprieve" in addition to "The Reawakening". Only a few scenes here depict the camps in operation, and then only in brief flashbacks, but their soul-squeezing atmosphere is vividly evoked in the behavior and body language of newly liberated prisoners.
Rosi has always had a special gift for using landscapes and enclosed architectural spaces expressively: the enveloping, official corridors of "Illustrious Corpses" (1976); the oddly canted perspectives of a sun-baked village perched on a mountaintop in "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979). In "The Truce", a journey from the cramped, gray chambers of Auschwitz into the desolate expanse of postwar Europe -- snaking across half the continent, deep into Russia and back out again, on foot and by train -- mirrors the expansion of constricted human spirits.
The larger mysteries of Levi's life, the evolution of the clenched prisoner of the memoirs into the acclaimed writer of playful essays and metafictional tales "The Periodic Table" and "The Monkey's Wrench" -- not to mention the forces that drove him to suicide in 1987 -- are beyond the scope of this, and perhaps any, film. But we see the beginnings of the process; and what's more, we feel them.
Rosi's sensuous approach turns out to be a perfect match for this material because so much of Levi's struggle to reconnect with the world is visual. Words like "seeing" or "observing" just don't measure up to the urgency of Levi's gaze; he seems to be interrogating reality, trying to peer all the way down into it, mining it for secrets that can help him reawaken.
John Turturro, as Levi, damps his trademark eruptive energy way down; the force of his personality remains, but as an impacted ember of intelligence. Speaking English with a soft Italian accent, Turturro shows the desperate intensity of Primo's watchfulness. "You are a scientist", a friend tells him. "You notice things". It's a description not only of a personality trait but also of the vocation Levi discovered at Auschwitz, to become a "witness" to the Holocaust. Where other prisoners burn their camp uniforms and seek to purge the experience from memory, Levi carefully saves his numbered prison shirt and wears it always under his new clothes.
There are aspects of Levi's account, especially its questing, analytical intelligence, that don't come across as powerfully onscreen as they do in print. When Turturro is required to recite some of Levi's written observations as lines of dialogue, his otherwise fine, fluid performance stiffens up.
"The Truce" is a great film in its ultimate effects, if not in every last detail. The decision to film the story in English, to build the film linguistically around Turturro, puts some of the European actors in supporting roles in an uncomfortable position, struggling with pronunciation when they should be living in the characters. Massimo Ghini, as Primo's ebullient buddy Cesare, and Agnieszka Wagner, as a radiant dumpling of a Russian nurse who plays a key role in reawakening Levi's senses, rise to the occasion. But Yugoslavian actor Rade Serbedzija turns one of Levi's pivotal traveling companions, a domineering, shrewd operator known only as the Greek, into a sub-Zorba stereotype.
In this context, though, all particular complaints are quibbles. What matters most about "The Truce" is that Rosi's magnificent film is altogether worthy of its subject.
THE TRUCE
Miramax Films
Director; Francesco Rosi
Screenplay; Francesco Rosi,
Stefano Rulli, Sandra Petraglia
Based on the book "La Tregua" (The Reawakening) by:; Primo Levi
Producers; Leo Pescarolo, Guido De Laurentiis
Directors of photography; Pasqualini De Santis, Marco Pontecorvo
Editors; Ruggero Mastroianni,
Bruno Sarandrea
Music; Luis Bacalov
Color
Cast:
Primo; John Turturro
Cesare; Massimo Ghini
The Greek; Rade Serbedzija
Daniele; Stefano Dionisi
Colonel Rovi; Teco Celio
Galina; Agnieszka Wagner
Flora; Lorenza Indovina
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 4/24/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film Review: 'La Tregua'
"La Tregua" (The Truce) is a multilevel saga about a man making peace with himself. In this case, it is the magical awakening and spiritual revitalization of a former Auschwitz prisoner who, during a long and arduous trek home after his concentration camp imprisonment, rediscovers his feelings and humanity.
Magnificently scoped and elevated by a rousingly tender musical score, this competition entrant should win much praise for its ambitious and eloquent equivocation of one of the most horrifying sagas in human history.
A picaresque saga of both physical and psychological dimension, the film begins with the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Centering on Primo (John Turturro), a deferential Italian chemist who has endured the heinous degradations of Auschwitz, the complex, spare narrative uses Primo's experiences and observations as a prism for all prisoners of the concentration camps -- Jews, gypsies or anyone else considered an "undesirable."
A diffident and intelligent man, Primo is somewhat baffled by his own survival: Why did God grant him life when others, such as the youngest children, were led to their immediate slaughter? Like Abraham, he questions God's notion of mercy. Throughout the film, philosophical quandaries as well as religious questions magnify the story beyond its mere logistical dimension. Nevertheless, screenwriters Franceso Rosi and Tonino Guerra have fortified this odyssey with observations and ruminations from Primo's intelligent and introspective recollections that have profound significance. Admittedly, the pronouncements sometimes radiate with a specious simplicity that takes its credence from the enormity of the subject, but, in general, they are of a solid and illuminating nature.
But not all is speculation and discourse. "La Tregua" bursts out with energy and high spirits as Primo travels, largely by train, from Auschwitz to his hometown in Italy. Exuberant ethnic celebrations enliven the trip and, for Primo, serve as catalysts to touch down to his most decent emotions -- feelings almost subsumed by the callous shell he developed as a means to survive the concentration camp. While these musical outbursts are wonderfully colorful and serve as intellectual rest stops from Primo's ruminations, they are at times overdrawn and somewhat glorified. Roaring scenes of the Red Army, booming away en masse on some nationalistic march, are somewhat prolonged and, alas, aesthetically old-fashioned. Indeed, director Francesco Rosi's narrative cadence occasionally trips into a lock-step mode: reflection, musical production number, train. Nevertheless, it is an overall percussively powerful filmic journey.
As the focal point of this largely wonderful work, Turturro's incisive performance is a wonderful portrait of a man's reawakening and his reaffirmation not only in himself but humanity. Coursing the production with some flesh-and-blood gusto, Rade Serbedzija is terrific as an irrepressible Greek.
Compositionally grand, thanks to cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis' robust framings and composer Luis Bacalov's rich shadings, "La Tregua" resounds with hard wisdom and compassion.
LA TREGUA (THE TRUCE)
In competition
Capitol Films
In association with Channel Four Films
A 3 Emme production
A film by Francesco Rosi
Producers Leo Pescarolo, Guido de Laurentiis
Director Francesco Rosi
Screenplay Francesco Rosi, Stefano Rulli,
Sandro Petraglia
Based on the book by Primo Levi
Dirs. of photography Pasqualino De Santis,
Marco Pontecorvo
Editor Ruggero Mastroianni, Bruno Sarandrea
Music Luis Bacalov
Costume designer Alberto Verso
Production designer Andrea Crisanti
Casting Shaila Rubin
Sound mixer Alain Curvelier
Cast:
Primo John Turturro
Cesare Massimo Ghini
The Greek Rade Serbedzija
Daniele Stefano Dionisi
Col. Rovi Teco Celio
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Magnificently scoped and elevated by a rousingly tender musical score, this competition entrant should win much praise for its ambitious and eloquent equivocation of one of the most horrifying sagas in human history.
A picaresque saga of both physical and psychological dimension, the film begins with the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Centering on Primo (John Turturro), a deferential Italian chemist who has endured the heinous degradations of Auschwitz, the complex, spare narrative uses Primo's experiences and observations as a prism for all prisoners of the concentration camps -- Jews, gypsies or anyone else considered an "undesirable."
A diffident and intelligent man, Primo is somewhat baffled by his own survival: Why did God grant him life when others, such as the youngest children, were led to their immediate slaughter? Like Abraham, he questions God's notion of mercy. Throughout the film, philosophical quandaries as well as religious questions magnify the story beyond its mere logistical dimension. Nevertheless, screenwriters Franceso Rosi and Tonino Guerra have fortified this odyssey with observations and ruminations from Primo's intelligent and introspective recollections that have profound significance. Admittedly, the pronouncements sometimes radiate with a specious simplicity that takes its credence from the enormity of the subject, but, in general, they are of a solid and illuminating nature.
But not all is speculation and discourse. "La Tregua" bursts out with energy and high spirits as Primo travels, largely by train, from Auschwitz to his hometown in Italy. Exuberant ethnic celebrations enliven the trip and, for Primo, serve as catalysts to touch down to his most decent emotions -- feelings almost subsumed by the callous shell he developed as a means to survive the concentration camp. While these musical outbursts are wonderfully colorful and serve as intellectual rest stops from Primo's ruminations, they are at times overdrawn and somewhat glorified. Roaring scenes of the Red Army, booming away en masse on some nationalistic march, are somewhat prolonged and, alas, aesthetically old-fashioned. Indeed, director Francesco Rosi's narrative cadence occasionally trips into a lock-step mode: reflection, musical production number, train. Nevertheless, it is an overall percussively powerful filmic journey.
As the focal point of this largely wonderful work, Turturro's incisive performance is a wonderful portrait of a man's reawakening and his reaffirmation not only in himself but humanity. Coursing the production with some flesh-and-blood gusto, Rade Serbedzija is terrific as an irrepressible Greek.
Compositionally grand, thanks to cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis' robust framings and composer Luis Bacalov's rich shadings, "La Tregua" resounds with hard wisdom and compassion.
LA TREGUA (THE TRUCE)
In competition
Capitol Films
In association with Channel Four Films
A 3 Emme production
A film by Francesco Rosi
Producers Leo Pescarolo, Guido de Laurentiis
Director Francesco Rosi
Screenplay Francesco Rosi, Stefano Rulli,
Sandro Petraglia
Based on the book by Primo Levi
Dirs. of photography Pasqualino De Santis,
Marco Pontecorvo
Editor Ruggero Mastroianni, Bruno Sarandrea
Music Luis Bacalov
Costume designer Alberto Verso
Production designer Andrea Crisanti
Casting Shaila Rubin
Sound mixer Alain Curvelier
Cast:
Primo John Turturro
Cesare Massimo Ghini
The Greek Rade Serbedzija
Daniele Stefano Dionisi
Col. Rovi Teco Celio
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/14/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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